The Edison Electric Institute announced OG&E as a recipient of its Emergency Response Award following power restoration from the July severe storm and October ice storm in 2020.
OG&E was selected by a panel of judges following an international nomination process, and the awards were presented during EEI’s virtual Winter Board and Chief Executives Meeting.
“Over the past year, many of our nation’s electric companies and their customers have endured historic storms, wildfires and other significant weather-related events,” said EEI President Tom Kuhn. “Working around the clock to restore power safely and quickly to customers and deploying mutual assistance crews to support impacted companies are hallmarks of the electric power industry.”
The award is based on OG&E’s emergency response efforts during two severe storms — a July 11 windstorm and an unprecedented early season, three-day ice storm in late October.
In July, OG&E customers lost power due to powerful winds and lightning. More than 1,500 personnel worked to restore electricity, replacing more than 300 structures and 10 miles of transmission line.
Later in the year, the October ice storm caused the largest number of storm-related outages in company history. More than 4,000 line crew members worked in challenging conditions, replacing nearly 6,000 structures and 58 miles of transmission line to restore electricity to homes and businesses safely and completely.
“We are honored by the recognition from EEI and I’m proud of our team’s efforts to restore power following these significant and historic weather events,” said Sean Trauschke, OGE Energy Corp. Chairman, President and CEO.
The latest honor marks a total of 18 times since 1999 that OG&E has received the highest national distinction for emergency recovery. The company has been recognized 10 times for major storms affecting the OG&E system and eight times for assisting other companies.
Source: press release